Coolestown () is a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

(formerly King's County),

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Etymology

Coolestown derives its name from Coolestown (Irish ''Baile an Chúlaígh''), a former name of

Edenderry Edenderry (; ) is a town in east County Offaly, Ireland. It is near the borders with Counties Kildare, Meath and Westmeath. The Grand Canal runs along the south of Edenderry, through the Bog of Allen, and there is a short spur to the town ...

, from the Cooley/Cowley/Colley family who ruled it from 1560.

Location

Coolestown is located in easternmost

. The

Philipstown River Philipstown may refer to: * Philipstown, Northern Cape, South Africa * Philipstown, New York Philipstown is a town located in the western part of Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 9,831 at the 2020 census. History ...

flows through it.

History

Coolestown was part of the ancient divisions known as Túath Dá Maige (''

túath ''Túath'' (plural ''túatha'') is the Old Irish term for the basic political and jurisdictional unit of Gaelic Ireland. ''Túath'' can refer to both a geographical territory as well the people who lived in that territory. Social structure In ...

'' of the Two Plains), and Ferran Uí Muircáin lying east of the

Figile River The Figile River (; ga, Abhainn Fhiodh Gaibhle) is a river in eastern Ireland. Name The earliest recorded name is ''Fidgable''/''Fid nGabli'', meaning "Gabul's Wood", recorded in the Book of Leinster and the Metrical Dindshenchas, both c. 116 ...

. The Uí Muircáin (Morahan, Moran) were a sub-sept of Clan Colgan. The tuath of Mag Lége is also noted here with its association to the Uí Failge septs of the Uí Onchon and Uí Cellaig (O'Kelly).Ireland's History in Maps: The Baronies of Ireland
/ref>

List of settlements

Below is a list of settlements in Coolestown: *

Bracknagh Bracknagh or Bracnagh () is a small village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is at the junction of the R442 and R419 regional roads, halfway between Portarlington and Rathangan (8 km from both). It is thought that the settlement began wi ...

* Clonbollogue *

References

Baronies of County Offaly {{Offaly-geo-stub